I Learned Something New About The YouTube Algorithm

Summary

This video uncovers a key factor influencing YouTube's algorithm for long-form content, revealing that it's not about click-through rate or average watch time. The secret lies within YouTube analytics, showing that the video's performance is exceptional due to its appeal to the audience, leading to more YouTube home and up next recommendations. Despite a lower click-through rate and average view duration, the video's success is attributed to high returning viewer engagement, suggesting that satisfying existing subscribers is crucial for boosting views and expanding reach.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The YouTube algorithm can boost long-form videos' views, and this is not related to click-through rate, average watch time, or other basic metrics.
• 📈 A video on the speaker's channel unexpectedly gained more views than usual, prompting an analysis of its performance.
• 🔎 The video's success was not due to tags or search since it was not performing well in those areas.
• 📊 The video had a high number of views and subscribers within a short period, which was unusual for the channel.
• 👥 The 1% rule of subscribers conversion from views generally holds true for the channel, but this video performed exceptionally with almost 2.3 times as many subscribers.
• 📲 Most views for the video came from YouTube's browse feature, not from suggestions, searches, or other channels.
• 💬 YouTube indicated that the video was especially appealing to the audience, leading to more frequent recommendations on the YouTube home page and up next.
• 📉 Despite the video's success, it had a lower click-through rate than usual, which YouTube attributed to reaching a wider audience.
• 🕒 The video's average view duration was below average, even with a high percentage of viewers watching the intro.
• 📈 The video had a high percentage of returning viewers, which is a strong indicator of satisfaction with the content.
• 🔑 Returning viewers are crucial as their repeated engagement can signal to YouTube that the content is worth promoting to a broader audience.

Q & A

What new discovery about the YouTube algorithm does the speaker discuss?

The speaker discusses a new insight about the YouTube algorithm that helps long-form videos get more views, which is related to how the video performs with the audience rather than basic metrics like click-through rate or average watch time.

What was the speaker's observation about the video that performed exceptionally well?

The video that performed exceptionally well was not getting its views from search or tags, had a low number of comments relative to its views, and was being recommended on YouTube home and up next more often than usual.

What is the typical 1% rule the speaker refers to in the context of YouTube?

The 1% rule refers to the expectation that 1% of the people who view your video will subscribe if the video is of standard quality. This principle applies to both individual videos and whole channels.

How does the speaker determine if a video is converting well and people enjoy the watching experience?

The speaker determines this by comparing the number of subscribers gained from a video to the expected number based on the 1% rule. If the video has more subscribers than expected, it indicates that the video is converting well and viewers enjoy the content.

What was unusual about the video's performance in terms of where the views were coming from?

The unusual aspect was that the majority of the views for this video were coming from YouTube home and not from suggested videos, other channels, search, or other places where videos typically appear.

What did YouTube analytics indicate about the video's performance?

YouTube analytics indicated that the video was especially appealing to the audience, leading to more frequent recommendations on YouTube home and up next, and it was outperforming the speaker's typical videos by up to four times in terms of recommendations.

What was confusing the speaker about the video's click-through rate?

The speaker was confused because, despite the video peaking at an 88.7% click-through rate, which is lower than the channel's typical rate, it was still performing exceptionally well.

How does YouTube determine whether to promote a video and give it more impressions?

YouTube determines this based on how well the video is received by the audience, indicated by likes on the video and feedback from surveys sent to viewers about whether the video should be promoted.

What does the hollowed-out green color in YouTube analytics signify?

The hollowed-out green color indicates that a metric, such as the click-through rate, is on the decline while views are still increasing.

Why did the speaker believe the video had the potential for even more success?

The speaker believed this because the click-through rate was holding steady despite a high number of impressions, suggesting that the video could find more success if it could get through the current phase of decline.

What role did returning viewers play in the video's success?

Returning viewers played a significant role as they were watching the video multiple times, making up two-thirds of the audience with only 2,900 views and 2,100 unique viewers.

How can creators use the information about returning viewers to improve their video performance?

Creators can use this information by focusing on satisfying their returning viewers, as their repeated views indicate satisfaction with the content, which can lead to better performance and recommendations by YouTube.